Shutter to Think: Revived by the arts in mid-winter

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to be around many talented, creative people and bear witness to their art. And in these dark times of mid-January – when the adrenaline of the holidays wanes and the skies go gunmetal gray – it can be easy to hole oneself up and binge-watch until spring.

So, it has been especially important to continue to support the arts as much as I can.

I recently visited a gallery show in St. Charles that a college friend was curating. An absolute brilliant cellist performed, surrounded by wonderful works from a number of female artists. Some proceeds went to help aid Ukraine in its continued struggles.

Last week, I covered an event at Dixon Stage Left that brought in a quartet and painter working concurrently to produce visual and audio art.

We are truly lucky to have access to such top-notch talent in the Sauk Valley.

A few weeks ago, I spent a few hours watching, talking (and likely annoying) a good friend of mine while he worked in his darkroom. He works exclusively in large format black-and-white film, which really isn’t something I’ve fooled with since school. There’s really nothing like the smell, slow pace and hope that comes out of darkroom work.

Most recently, I had stopped out at Sauk Valley Community College, which had brought in caricature artist Kevin Berg as a treat to staff and students upon their return for the spring semester. The line was long, but the patrons were patient as the incredibly talented Mr. Berg captured the whimsical essence of his subjects.

All of these recent visits certainly have helped stave off the doldrums – and, in fact, just writing this column is giving me a bit of a shot in the arm to get working a little harder on my own works. There’s a lot happening in and around the Sauk Valley: live music, art, comedy and professional wrestling.

Whatever moves you, I encourage you to support it.

• Follow Alex T. Paschal on Instagram @svmphotogs or message him at apaschal@shawmedia.com.